About Steffanie

Steffanie marvels from time to time that a girl from a small town in Idaho had such a full career in such a short time. She was trained by famous dancers and ballerinas like Marjorie Tallchief, Violette Verdy, Maria Tallchief, Igor Youskevitch,  Olivier Pardina, and Nina Danilova to name a few.

She began dancing at age 3, was dancing 6 days a week by age 11, and moved away from home to pursue further ballet training at The Harid Conservatory at age 15. She was awarded full scholarships to both the School of American Ballet in New York City's summer program and Pacific Northwest Ballet's summer and year round programs.

At age 19 she was offered her first full professional contract and danced professionally for 1 year with the Hartford Ballet and for 4 years with Ballet West. Though brief, her professional experience encompassed most of the famous ballets - the Nutcracker (of course!) but also Giselle, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. She performed in 4 ballets by the great choreographer George Balanchine - "The Four Temperaments" (performing the First Theme pas de deux), "Theme and Variations," "Serenade," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." She also enjoyed performing in a number of more contemporary ballets with Ballet West including "Lamborena," "Book of Alleged Dances," and "Polish Pieces."

Miraculous in her eyes and to her dancer's perspective, not only was Steffanie offered a position with Ballet West 6 months after completing an 18 month mission to Taiwan for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but she danced a soloist role in her first performance at the Capitol Theater - that of a side sylph in Peter Schaufuss's version of the ballet "La Sylphide." At that time she was also chosen by Schaufuss to understudy the lead role of that ballet.

Being silly back-stage dressed to perform La Sylphide.

Professionally, Steffanie was blessed to work with Francia Russell, Kirk Peterson, and Patricia Neary. And among her colleagues and friends during her training and career are the current stars of the major ballet companies, including Sarah Webb, principle with the Houston Ballet; Marcelo Gomes, principle with American Ballet Theater; Meagan Fairchild, principle with New York City Ballet; and Carrie Imler, principle with Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Steffanie is currently a homeschooling mother of four. (You can read more about that here.) In addition to sharing her passion for ballet with her family and friends, she is also a substitute and private teacher for the Cache Valley Civic Ballet in Logan, UT where she enjoys acting as a ballet ambassador to elevate the art form in her community.

Me and the crew!

Steffanie Speaks

Though I've hung up my point shoes long ago, I still enjoy sharing my passion for ballet. If you would like me to visit your organization to speak about my experiences with ballet, ballet as an art form and profession, or life lessons I learned from my training and career, I would be delighted to do so. Leave a comment below with information on how I can reach you, and I will be happy to contact you.  Cost: FREE!